Invisible Man
by Dr. Breifs Cat
Summary: Cat Noir figuring out Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug is bad enough. She's not about to compound that error by letting him tell her who he is. Or give into the temptation to try and figure it out herself. She has better things to think about than the secret identity of a catboy. Like the fact that her relationship with Adrien might finally be starting to change.
1. Chapter 1

**Invisible Man  
Chapter One**

* * *

Adrien wasn't at school on Thursday.

Alya had shown up at Marinette's house Wednesday evening waving a flier for an upcoming film showcase celebrating the career of Luc Besson. Adrien (and let's face it, humanity as a whole) was absolutely the sort of nerd unable to pass up a chance to see _The Fifth Element_ in theatres. Could there be a better way to set him and Marinette up? They could invite a whole group and then arrange things so that Adrien and Marinette were in one show while their friends were in another.

An entire film festival _(showcase!)_ had an awful lot of variables. Marinette was good for conjuring up a Rube Goldberg machine out of her surroundings and a Lucky Charm when Ladybug needed to capture an akuma, but she couldn't drum up much enthusiasm for this plan. Firstly because "plans" to sweep Adrien off his feet had a long and storied history of _not working_ and secondly because he had already confessed to her that he liked someone else.

The confession itself was important. He valued Marinette enough to tell her.

And also important was the part where he, you know, liked _someone else._ I. e., not Marinette.

(And that—that was fine. It didn't change her feelings about him any. It wasn't a "no." It was a "not right now." Later, after whatever he had with Whoever-She-Is was over, then maybe he would see Marinette in a different light.)

And Marinette told Alya all this.

"Girl!" Alya had cried with the affectionate exasperation Marinette knew so well. "He loves _you!"_

Nice as it was to know Alya was always the first to think astonishingly well of her, Marinette couldn't agree. "He said 'the girl I'm in love with.' That's not how you say it when the person is right there." She had replayed that conversation in her head a million times. Marinette didn't mean to dwell on it. His words just had this way of sneaking up on her and echoing in her ears.

Alya (and one must remember Alya went from not crushing on Nino to crushing on him to dating him in the span of a single conversation because she was just _that_ good at making things happen) had just raised her eyebrows. "And how many silly things that were not remotely what you meant have _you_ said to_ him?"_

UNFAIR

Because the answer is _too many._ Infinity silly things. Though still not quite clear on what made a number imaginary, Marinette was sure imaginary numbers were needed to figure out the answer.

"Exactly. He was just tongue-tied." Alya had next assaulted Marinette with her phone. "Take a look at these pics."

Alya's gallery of candid Adrien shots could put Marinette's bedroom walls to shame. She swiped through what felt like endless photos of Adrien, all wearing the same expression—a tiny, lopsided smile and eyes that defied description. "That is how he looks at you. I've been snapping these pics for weeks." (Which explained Alya's sudden mania for texting whenever Marinette and Adrien were together. She was just faking it while she took the picture.) "You walk into the room and he turns to mush. Go to the movies with him. You owe it to yourself to see what will happen."

Probably, Marinette knew, probably nothing would happen. He was not going to suddenly confess his undying love—the other girl forgotten—and run off with her to a beautiful home with three children and a hamster.

But

you know

he_ might._

She spent the night unable to think about anything else. Adrien would go to the festival and they'd see some movies together and even if it didn't launch the romance of the century, they'd still have fun. It was still a whole day of films by Luc Besson.

But when she arrived at school, ready to wave the flier and invite him to join the group they were putting together, Adrien wasn't there. Marinette may have just missed him in the courtyard, but when students filed into the classroom, the seat beside Nino remained empty no matter how hard she stared at it.

Alya leaned forward. "What's the story with Adrien? Is he sick?"

Nino half-turned, propping on elbow on the back of his bench. "Nah, he's got an audition this morning. He said he'd be here after lunch."

"That's cool." Alya appeared to think she could elbow Marinette into forgetting her disappointment. "Surprised his dad let him go to to an audition on a school day. What's it for?"

"Music video with Isa and Asimov. The single won't be dropped for weeks and he's been taunting me with the knowledge that he's hearing it without me."

"Wow, very indie. I thought our friendly neighborhood It Boy was mainstream."

"His _dad's_ mainstream," Nino corrected. "Adrien usually gets cast in stuff because his dad knows a guy who knows a guy or _is_ the guy. Adrien's going into this one sans connections. He's way nervous about it, too, or else he would have told you girls about it ages ago."

"Dang, and his dad still let him go?"

"Oh, yeah, old man's thrilled. Apparently going out for this video on his own is the first time Adrien has ever 'taken his career seriously.'" Nino's laidback openness did not make for a very good impression of Mr. Agreste. "Plus, any excuse to keep Adrien out of school. He's probably hoping one morning with a tutor will make Adrien long for homeschool."

Alya grinned. "Not gonna happen."

"A man can dream, Alya." Nino laid his hand over his heart, and the girls laughed. "A man can dream."

* * *

In every other respect, the morning was utterly mundane. In homeroom, Marinette traded morning compliments with Juleka. And then it was time for physical science, and while calculating _why_ her device worked to specifications was a bit harder than building it, without Adrien to stare at, hers was a disaster-free table. And then came PE, followed by math, and lunch. Marinette rarely stayed at school for lunch break. With her parents' culinary school-level cooking just across the street, the cafeteria held little appeal. But Nino had said Adrien would be coming to school after break, and she didn't want to miss his arrival. She wanted to hear all about the audition, if he'd met Isabelle Ire in person or just a representative of her band, how well he did, when he'd get the callback and if he was free that Saturday and wanted to go to the cinema.

The group they had managed to put together so far included Nino (naturally), and Nathaniel, Max, and Alix, a trio whose ready agreement for the scheme was likely impacted by the fact that of their entire class only they, Alya and Marinette had stayed at school during lunch. (And Markov, but technically, he didn't eat and wasn't enrolled at their school.) Most of the films being featured were too violent for Mylène's tastes, and Kitty Section needed to practice for an upcoming gig, so Rose, Juleka and Ivan didn't have the time. They'd catch Kim when he came back from lunch and make sure he knew to extend his invitation to Ondine. Nath would catch Marc when he could. That left Luka—who wouldn't abandon the rest of Kitty Section so close to a performance but Marinette really felt they should invite anyway lest he feel like he was purposefully left out—and Kagami as the last members of their social circle so far unaccounted for.

"May I invite Ada?" Max asked, interrupting a silent argument between Alya and Marinette.

"She's in Marc's class," Nath added, pre-empting Alya's incoming New Kid _'Who?'_

"She has been under significant stress as of late and I believe a day at the cinema shall provide sufficient distraction."

"Absolutely, the more the merrier!" Marinette replied. "What will we be distracting her from?" She turned away from Alya, unwilling to see her friend accuse her of not one, but two counts of self-sabotage. Well. Kagami may be a rival for Adrien's affections and probably the girl he told her about, but she was also Marinette's friend and she didn't like the idea of trying to snipe Adrien out from underneath her. (Anymore.) Plus, if Adrien decided to take the film festival as an opportunity to sneak off with Kagami, it would 1) tell Marinette everything she needed to know about the state of his heart and 2) make him happier than being tricked into a date with her. As for Ada, Marinette didn't really know her, but a friend of a friend in need was a friend indeed. Or close enough.

"She has been working on developing an app to help Parisians track and avoid akumatized persons in real time which ideally should tap into existing security infrastructures."

"Hasn't been going well, huh?"

They heard the screams first.

Max sighed. "Negative."

The students in the cafeteria burst from the room en masse, scrambling down the steps to the courtyard. A metallic, robotic looking girl had blast a hole in the library wall, debris raining down in front of the main exit of the school. Though the supervillain was still in the library, surveying her handiwork from afar, she had effectively blocked the exit.

With more than just debris, too. As they got closer, Marinette and her friends could see a large 0 superimposed on each door.

"Binary," Max explained. "The bit has been turned off."

"Meaning?" Alix prompted.

"Presumably, the doors will not open until the bit has been turned on. In binary, that is expressed with a 1."

"We'll have to go out a window," Marinette interjected. "Ada only just turned and she looks like she's not going anywhere. She can't have 0'd everything."

Students scattered, breaking off into smaller groups to investigate every first floor classroom. Marinette, Alya and Max turned and ran directly for the room beneath the cafeteria. It was the furthest from the library, so it should take the longest for Ada to affect it. Until Marinette could shake her friends long enough to transform, it was their best shot.

Marinette's eyes narrowed as they ran, pushing herself faster. All around her, she heard footsteps thundering and doors being swung open. The chorus of voices was not encouraging. "Locked!" "Locked!" "This one's locked!" "Another 0!"

Escape was not going to be simple. "Max, Markov, go back to one of the rooms we know has been 0'd and see if you can hack it open. You said it's binary, right? So that means it's a computer program."

"Affirmative."

"Good thinking, class rep!"

Max and Markov veered right, ducking into the classroom Nath and Alix had just verified to have been locked down. Marinette only needed to get away from Alya before she could face Ada as Ladybug, but how?

The breath was knocked out of her. The ground fell away beneath her feet. Marinette sucked in air, her first thought being that she'd been hit from behind, but the idea had hardly had a chance to form in her mind before she realized—

"Cat Noir!" Alya recovered first, whipping out her phone to film the school below as Cat Noir carried both girls to the roof in a single bound. One, two, three steps with Alya in one arm and Marinette in the other across the roof and then another jump. Alya whooped as they sailed through the air and landed on the grass outside.

"Alya, make sure everyone who left school during lunch break knows it's not safe to come back."

"On it!"

Cat Noir shot her a thumbs up and then, not letting go of Marinette, sprung to the rooftop across the street. He released her, and pulled open the trap door leading to her own bedroom. "In you go."

Marinette began her descent. "Thanks, Cat Noir." He would assume she was thanking him for the rescue, but honestly, his neglecting to bring Alya with them once he told her to start text blasting and/or Ladyblogging the attack was awfully convenient.

"I'll wait out here."

"Wait—what?"

He waved his hand in a swirling motion. "For you to change."

Okay.

Okay. She had made this mistake before, leapt to the conclusion that he was on the verge of figuring her out and made life about a thousand times worse for herself because he wasn't thinking what she _thought_ he was thinking at all.

"Change what?"

"Into—you know."

There was definitely an alternate explanation here. Sure, it sounded to her like he was talking about transforming into Ladybug, but that was only because she knew she was going to have to transform into Ladybug. He didn't. He was talking about something else. Something she couldn't see because of her own awareness of Ladybug's true identity and paranoia over being discovered.

"I don't know."

From the school came a thundering noise that was more than likely some part of the building collapsing. Cat Noir winced. He knew he should be over there, and instead he was loitering on her roof, making cryptic comments and wasting time.

"You're—" he dropped his voice, "—Ladybug."

He sounded _sure_.

Marinette felt sick.

"I think."

Maybe not so sure.

"No. You are. I know you are." His voice alternated, calm and sure on some words, coarse and raw for others. "_You have to be._ I don't—I don't need to see you transform but the what-ifs are driving me crazy so just—just let me be sure."

"Go," she hissed. "Go back to that school and _do your job."_

He didn't hesitate a moment before using his stick to vault back to the school.

Marinette dropped through the trap door, landing knees first on her mattress. Had he listened to her because Cat Noir always had faith in Ladybug? Or had he listened because her refusal to answer him made him think she wasn't Ladybug and he didn't want to waste anymore time? "This is bad, Tikki. This is really bad."

The little kwami never looked upon disasters with the dread they deserved. "Oh, Marinette, you can handle anything, including Cat Noir."

She'd have to set that aside for later. "Akuma first. Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug made sure to take a detour before reaching the school, not wanting to give anyone else the chance to realize Ladybug emerged from the place Cat Noir had dropped Marinette off. Honestly! Did that boy actually _think_ about _anything_?

Ada's robot form (apparently, Hawkmoth had named her Lovelace which didn't make a bit of sense for a robot, but okay) was strong enough to give Cat Noir a good fight in melee combat. He was keeping her focus off the cowering students still trapped in the courtyard, which was good, but looking at her, Ladybug couldn't guess where her akumatized object was. Her body was uniformly covered in metal sheets, all of which were inscribed with glowing green writing that looked like letters and special characters on a normal keyboard but didn't make any sense.

Since no part of her body was different, the akuma had to be in one of the metal sheets, but which one? It was going to take some luck to figure it out.

"Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug's miraculous powers of creation provided her with a ladybug-themed _rubber duck._ She caught it in one hand and stared at it, dumbfounded. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Max, sheltering with the students, shouted, "Rubber duck debugging!"

Ladybug dashed over to him. "What?"

"It is common for computer programmers to read a buggy code aloud to a rubber duck. Although a programmer does not see the mistake in the code when they look at it, they will often find the answer when they hear themselves say it."

"So if I read the writing on her body, I should be able to hear where the akuma is hiding. But none of that writing makes sense."

"It will when you say it."

"Keep her distracted, kitty," Ladybug muttered. With the battle between Lovelace and Cat Noir being as fast paced and hard hitting as it was, it was hard to read the panels. Ladybug bounded here and there, trying to catch different angles to see different spots on Lovelace's body and move quickly enough to keep up with them.

But when she heard it, she heard it.

Ladybug used her yoyo string to bind Lovelace's arms flat along her sides. "Cat Noir! Get her left arm, the panel that says '_akumamake hello ada!'_"

Cat Noir charged his ring with destructive energy and touched the panel with his pointer finger. It crumbled to dust, and out flew the akuma. The robotic monster receded, leaving Ada slumped and confused. Ladybug wasted no time catching and purifying the akuma. When her Miraculous Ladybugs restored the school, they also restored a silicone bracelet she belatedly remembered Ada always wearing. Taking a closer look at it, Ladybug saw it said 'gnatmake hello adb.'

Learning the significance of the bracelet would have to wait. Reading every panel had taken some time and her earrings beeped to warn her she had only two minutes left.

Ladybug fled, closely followed by Cat Noir.

It looked like he wasn't going to let this go. And if they were going to continue fighting the forces of evil together, she couldn't afford to avoid talking to him forever.

(Were they going to continue? Did her identity being discovered mean one or both of them was about to get fired? She was a full fledged Ladybug! Future Guardian of the Miracle Box! It was too late to fire her for being lax about her identity, wasn't it?)

They ended up on the roof of the apartment next to her own, sheltered behind the chimney she often used when trying to avoid detransforming at her own home.

Cat Noir spoke first. "I didn't do it on purpose."

So he had listened to her orders to go back to school on the assumption she was Ladybug. If she just pretended to not know what he was talking about, would it be enough to protect her?

"Marinette is my friend—I don't know why I'm telling you that, you know that—and I was thinking about her one day—_like people think about their friends!_—and I just _saw_ it. I couldn't unsee it. Everything made so much sense after that. Why I—Why _your_ professionalism goes out the window whenever Chloe Bourgeois is around. Where Ladybug was when Evillustrator went on a date with Marinette. How you _really_ got on Startrain. Why Ladybug didn't show up to my surprise until I showed it to Marinette. How you saved her when her dad was akumatized."

Oh, crap.

oh crap

The boy _could_ think. There was no way she could explain away all of that! Not well enough to throw him off the trail now, anyway!

"How long have you known?"

"Couple days."

With her back against the chimney, Ladybug sunk down to sit on the roof, her knees bent in front of her. "If you can figure me out, that means Hawk Moth can."

Cat Noir laughed. It sounded forced. "I don't think he'll be able to use my method."

"How did you—nevermind, I don't want to know." There had to be some way to salvage this!

"Claws—"

"Stop! What are you doing!"

Cat Noir frowned. "Transforming back."

"Then I'll know who you are!" She didn't like how shrill she sounded. _Ladybug_ did not _panic_.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "That's why I was gonna do it."

"I can't know who you are!"

"This is so dumb!"

"There's nothing dumb about it! What would happen if Hawk Moth captured you somehow? He'd take your ring and try to force you to tell him my identity!"

"I wouldn't!"

"You can't know that!"

His eyes blazed. "I _do_ know that! I would never betray you!"

"Says the boy who figured out my identity even though he knew I wanted it to be a secret!"

"I didn't do it on purpose! I know you in biker gear, I know you when you're Lady Noire! Why shouldn't I know you when you're _you?"_

Because she knew him in a banana costume and she knew Mister Bug, and she didn't have the slightest idea who he really was. She didn't know where to begin to guess.

"We don't know if Hawk Moth can use magic to make us tell. He could have a mind-control akuma or akumatize you if you feel bad about being captured."

"I am a very optimistic person!"

Well. He definitely wasn't wrong about that. The boy practically felt the need to check and see if she'd fallen in love with him yet everyday. Still… "If you get captured, if worse comes to worse, I can use my Miraculous Ladybug to magic you back to where you started. They'll undo the damage without me needing to confront Hawk Moth face-to-face and risk my Miraculous. Even if you give me up, I would still have time to fix things. If he uses magic, maybe that would even mean my ladybugs can make him forget he ever knew."

Ladybug hugged her knees to her chest. "If I got captured, you can't rescue me and get the earrings back at a distance. You'd have to come right to us. The only advantage you have is you can get close as real-you without him knowing Cat Noir is almost there. You need all the time I can give you. I can't know who you really are. I refuse to know. You knowing me can't change that."

Her transformation ran out.

And then she was Marinette, sitting on the rooftop with her back resting against a chimney. She fished a macaron out of her purse for Tikki.

"It's nice to see you, Cat Noir."

"Nice to see you, too, Tikki." He sat down next to Marinette, cross-legged, and beckoned Tikki to him with cupped palms. She settled in his hands to eat.

When did they get so chummy? Ladybug had met Plagg a handful of times, but as far as she knew, Cat Noir and Tikki had only met once. Marinette rested her head on her folded arms. "Traitor," she muttered fondly.

"I think it's very sweet that you know Ladybug well enough to see Marinette," Tikki said. She really wanted to earn that traitor label, didn't she? "I always tell her that she's Ladybug with or without the mask. Maybe now she'll believe me."

"She should. She's always Ladybug."

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here. Anyway, I need to get back to school, and _you_ need to go before you transform back!"

Marinette collected her kwami and climbed back to her side of the rooftop in an uncoordinated and decidedly unLadybuglike fashion. That'll show them.

* * *

Adrien was already in class when Marinette arrived. Between Ada and Cat Noir, she'd almost forgotten her desire to be there when he arrived. He didn't look too happy. Was it possible the audition had not gone well? Isa and Asimov was a British indie group with haunting vocals and macabre lyrics. They had their fans, but they were far from a sensation. Adrien appearing in one of their videos would rocket them to popularity among French audiences. They'd be crazy not to pick him. They should be _begging_ him to be in their video.

It looked like Nino and Alya were already mid-grilling him about it when Marinette came in the room. Alya had her phone up, recording the entire thing. "Was Isabelle Ire there?"

"No, just a casting agent. They said she'd be there in person for callbacks."

"When's that?"

"Next week, if I get called."

Marinette slid onto the bench beside Alya. "Of course they loved you, who wouldn't love you—like you. I'd be crazy not pick you, I mean, they would be crazy not to pick you."

He brightened a bit. "Do you really think so, Marinette? I've never auditioned for anything before. It was really nerve wracking to know everyone there was only watching me so that they could judge me."

"Of course! Because you are so cute and talented and sweet, and what else could a music video need?"

"I don't know what the video needs, but I need some luck." He produced the lucky charm she'd given him from his pocket. "I feel like I used it all up today. Could you—I don't know—recharge it?"

"Suuuuuuuuuuuuure." Marinette took the charm. What did Adrien think recharging a lucky charm would look like? She sandwiched it between her palms and threaded her fingers together. At a loss of what else to do, Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and chanted _good luck_ under her breath a few times. "There you go! All charged!"

Adrien took the lucky charm back like it was something precious, something that was going to get him this role he wanted for sure. Her face burned and she couldn't look at him. "Thank you so much, Marinette!"

"If you need something to keep your mind off of it," Alya interjected, "last night I found out the cinema is showing all Luc Besson films this Saturday. Marinette and I are putting a group together for a movie marathon. You in?"

"Absolutely! That sounds awesome!"

After school, Alya showed Marinette the recording of her post-audition interview with Adrien. Only, with her added commentary, it was a lot less about Adrien gushing over the band and their music and his concern he didn't have the look they were after and a lot more about the way his eyes kept drifting to the empty spot on the bench where Marinette was supposed to bet. Or the way he stared at her when she finally came in the classroom. And especially the way he was looking at her while she recharged his lucky charm.

Or, as Alya put it, "The lovesick pile of mush formerly known as Adrien Agreste."


	2. Chapter 2

**Invisible Man  
Chapter Two**

* * *

The cinema was not a popular destination on a Thursday afternoon. A teenager maybe two years older than Marinette sold her a ticket—to what, she barely knew, she had just wanted to get in the building—and another was looking bored by the concession stand. A handful of lone adults passed by, all drifting vaguely in the same direction. She felt incredibly conspicuous. Marinette took a few steps towards the same theater everyone else appeared to be heading to, trying to blend in. What she wanted to do was find Master Fu.

So naturally, _he_ found _her_.

"Ah, Marinette, may I interest you in the 16h15 _Zootopia?"_

She jumped out of her skin and spun around. "Actually, Master," (was whispering suspicious? She felt suspicious) "We need to talk."

Master Fu gently tucked his arms behind his back and smiled as though he knew why she had come. "Please, step into my office."

The "office" of the Last Guardian of the Miraculous was a deserted theater scheduled to show _Zootopia_ at 16h15. "You kids today have too many extracurriculars. No one comes to the movies anymore." His tone invoked the rant of every elder looking upon the young with disapproval, but his smile betrayed it to be nothing more than a good-natured tease. Master Fu raked his eyes over every row, ensuring the theater really was empty before he dropped into an aisle seat near the door. Wayzz emerged from wherever he had been hiding.

Marinette sat in the next seat over. "We're putting together a whole group for the Luc Besson festival." She unfastened her purse to let Tikki out.

"How many? I will make sure we have seats for you."

It was kind of Master Fu to use his cover as a cinema employee to ensure her friends would be able to see the films they wished. It was going to be a busy day for him. Still, embarrassment crept onto her face. Ladybug had a tendency to select Marinette's closest friends when a mission called for allies. Several of the kids in her group were going to have familiar names. "Me, Alya, Nino, Max, may be Kagami, and Adrien, Kim, Alix, Nathaniel, Ondine, Ada and Marc."

"That's quite the group. Chloe and Luka will not be joining you?"

Marinette tried to hide her wince. "Chloe's not really a _friend_ friend, and Luka has band practice."

"Perhaps another time. Between you and me, we are only trying to build hype for _Valerian_ next year."

As awesome as a Valerian and Laureline movie was going to be, Marinette had not come to the theater to gush over France's favorite time-traveling space cops. What she had come to talk about was going to be a lot less fun.

On the screen, Judy Hopps was faking a gruesome death in the school play.

"Master, Cat Noir figured out who I really am."

"Wayzz, Tikki, enjoy the movie. Kwamis should not be privy to Guardian business." After a few brief protests—largely rooted in the absence of popcorn—Wayzz and Tikki obeyed, floating across the dark theater to seats of their own.

Marinette was hesitant. "About Cat Noir…"

"It is most unfortunate, but sadly to be expected."

Master Fu's reaction was almost nonchalant. Disinterest was better than anger or disappointment, but either of those emotions would have been easier to navigate. This response left her confused. Marinette had never questioned the importance of secrecy. Was she supposed to? "Should we be able to figure it out?"

"Ideally, no. But we are not in ideal circumstances. The appearance of Hawk Moth forced me to find holders for the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous quickly. The two of you were the first to pass the test. I found you very close to one another. I know you have met."

Well, that explained how he knew Marinette well enough to recognize her, but not why she couldn't do the same for him. How often were they near each other? Did he go to her school? Live nearby? Buy bread at T&S? Marinette felt confident about the last, at least. He raved about the macarons.

"It is always preferable for a Miraculous holder's identity to be known only to the Guardian that assists their kwami. But for one holder to know another is not a disaster."

Rapidly, Marinette broke in, "I don't know his identity." She felt a bit like a teacher's pet, eager to draw attention to the fact that _she_ had been behaving when a classmate had not. "He wants me to know, but I—"

"Do not feel you must justify yourself to me, Marinette. You are a future Guardian and this is a secret you are permitted to know. But you are also Ladybug, and you may choose to be a partner first and not take on the responsibility of supporting Plagg. That is fine. I have been watching over Plagg for a very long time."

"I want to know who he is, but I also don't." Doomsday scenarios kept running through her mind, horrible fates that could have been avoided had they just respected the rules and kept their true identities secret.

"It is wise to be cautious with such knowledge. You may find a greater understanding of one another will have a positive impact on your teamwork. Yet you may also find that knowing him makes fighting by his side much, much harder."

"If he turns out to be someone I don't like?" Marinette couldn't imagine holding a grudge against anyone, no matter how badly they had wronged her, if they turned out to be Cat Noir.

Master Fu chuckled. "Not at all. Tell me—have you ever noticed Cat Noir's eyes?"

"His cat eyes? Yeah, of course."

"They make him look inhuman. Did you know superheroes are often referred to as modern mythology? Most people do not know that the mythological heroes they have been made to study all their lives are exactly the same as our superheroes of today. Those characters are not remembered for their humanity, but how they transcend it. They inspire us to be greater than we are. If you were to take away Cat Noir's eyes—his mask, his myth—you would find a boy. A boy your own age with a name and a human face and a family that wonders where he is and if he is safe when an akuma appears. You fear seeing that boy. Something will change when you look at Cat Noir and see him for the boy he is, and you do not have faith that change will be for the better."

"So you're telling me to have faith?"

"How should I know? Marinette, I do not know how your relationship with Cat Noir will change in the future any better than you do. You may find knowing him outside all of this makes you more in sync than ever. On the other hand, you may find knowing him makes it impossible to watch him take the risks his duty requires. If that were the case, it would be only a matter of time before your partnership must end."

Anything that endangered their partnership was absolutely out of the question. Watching Cat Noir do things like throw himself from Gamer 2.0's platform was bad enough already. Watching that same boy while knowing the life he was throwing away was full and complete, with friends and family and hopes and dreams… His role on their team was to take damage, keep supervillains occupied, buy her time to defeat them at the cost of himself. Ladybug had to accept that. She had to be able to let him do it, put as much faith in her ability to fix everything as he did. "But right now, he's okay, right? He's not going to get fired for figuring me out?"

"No. I shall speak to him and learn how he discovered your true identity so that we may ensure no one else does, but no, he is not fired. He has been an exceptional holder of the Black Cat. I will not find another so well suited to Plagg or you."

That was an interesting thought. "Are certain people better at using a certain Miraculous?" Ladybug and Cat Noir were a great team, but that was true of nearly all of their allies. The only one who had been unable to handle a Miraculous was Adrien. Aspik had been a disaster; the Snake was always meant for Luka, she saw that with hindsight. Did everyone have one specific Miraculous they were meant for? Was there a reason Alya was Rena Rouge when Marinette had been tempted to give her both the Ladybug and the Bee? There was nothing about Alya that suggested she would be more attuned to illusions than creation or subjugation. Nino's drive to protect Alya had made him perfect for the Turtle, but at the end of the day, protection was a shared goal. Did that mean they were all suited to the Turtle? Max had been given the Horse simply because he had already been helping when they needed a third hero. Alix would be Bunnyx someday. Because she was ideally suited to the Rabbit or because that Miraculous was a family heirloom?

"Yes and no. You, Marinette, have the potential to wield any Miraculous successfully. Cat Noir would struggle with anything but the Black Cat. It is his nature to be gentle and guileless which tempers the destructive and chaotic aspects of his Miraculous." Master Fu's eyes twinkled. "You enjoyed your turn with the ring, I think, but you were rash with your Cataclysm. It worked out. With time and practice, you would learn to make constructive use of destruction, but you could never be as well suited to it as him."

Unfair! "Cat Noir usually just Cataclysms what I tell him to!"

"He does. Hesitance. Deference to the wishes of others. These things are not often listed among the virtues of great heroes, but they are a necessity for one whose gift is destruction. One must never rush to destroy, or become so blinded by your own perception that you fail to see what deserves to be preserved. Decay is as necessary as creation but the burden it carries is greater."

"But Ladybug is the one who purifies akumas. Isn't that job the harder one?"

"The Butterfly Miraculous is not meant for the creation of supervillains. Most Ladybugs are never asked to purify."

"I guess I don't understand what you mean by burden." A burden was the same as responsibility, wasn't it?

"The Ladybug is the Miraculous of Creation. No act of creation is ever wasted. To know you have created that which was not there before will never haunt you. The ability to heal will never frighten you. Destruction used with prudence can be a good thing. But like the Butterfly, it can also devastate and do terrible harm."

"Like a forest fire," Marinette realized. "A forest burning down is bad, but people also use fire on purpose to clear away the brush and renew the soil so that the forest grows stronger."

"Precisely. And it is those very same qualities that make Cat Noir ideal for directing the spread of a controlled burn that renders him unsuitable to roles that do not require such leashing."

They parted soon after, Master Fu taking Wayzz and returning to his duties at the cinema. Marinette bought a small popcorn for Tikki and sat with her for the rest of _Zootopia_. Being a secret forced Tikki to lead a very restricted life. Before her friendship with Adrien had put into focus how painful isolation was, Marinette could not have understood how meaningful simply sitting in a theater with a friend was to someone who never had that. Tikki deserved little pleasures, too.

"It's funny, Tikki," Marinette remarked after the movie. "Master Fu and I talked a lot about Cat Noir, and I just don't see him the way Master describes him. He's so goofy and over the top. It's hard to imagine him gentle and restrained."

"Master Fu knows him in and out of the mask. He has a fuller picture of who Cat Noir really is. You would, too, if you learned more about him."

"Too risky. Come on, fill me in on _Zootopia_. I missed the beginning."

* * *

Marinette rocked on her feet.

He wasn't coming back, was he?

Kagami had used her tried and true method of sneaking away from her overbearing mother by claiming she was going fencing with Adrien, but since that could not explain an entire afternoon away, she could only justify seeing one movie. Her pop culture education was sorely lacking—she'd not seen any Luc Besson films before. That made their first choice of the day easy: introduce Kagami to _The Fifth Element_.

Each screen at the cinema was dedicated to showing one film from Besson's filmography all day long. Purchasing a pass to the showcase itself bestowed the right to hop from screen to screen for the duration of the event. They did the math: you had to see three movies for the ticket price to be worthwhile. But Kagami was like Adrien; seeing only one movie was worth the price of doing something with _friends._

(Marinette had decided to try and keep the group between herself and Kagami. Make Adrien choose which one of them he wanted to sit with. She had to answer the question of if she had a shot at him or if she had already lost him to a rival. She had not counted on the fact that, of the group, Kagami was really only friends with Adrien _and Marinette._ She insisted on sitting with them both.)

Kagami didn't really get _The Fifth Element._ Marinette and Adrien tried valiantly to explain its enduring worth in the annals of cinema, but Kagami remained steadfast in her opinion that it was mostly just silly. Oh, well. Education was a process.

And then Adrien offered to walk Kagami to school, where the car was coming to pick her up after "fencing." He swore he would come right back for more movies. While the rest of their group debated what to see next, Marinette volunteered to wait for Adrien.

To school was, at best, a five minute walk. So short that offers of other company got a "Don't worry about it, I'll be right back! Besides, you wouldn't have been at fencing."

He wasn't coming back.

He probably got there, saw the car come for Kagami, and realized that he would much rather do whatever she was doing than come back to the cinema to watch more silly movies like _The Fifth Element._

"Sorry I took so long!"

_He came back._

He said he would, why had she doubted him?

"That's okay!" Marinette squeaked. "That's fine!"

"I ran into my substitute Chinese tutor and he wanted to talk."

Wow, a substitute tutor? "Your dad takes your education really seriously, doesn't he?"

Adrien shrugged. "He wants me to excel. I don't mind high expectations—they're just Father's way of saying he believes in me—but I wish I had more time for things like this!"

"I'm glad your father let you come."

Cheeks pink, Adrien sheepishly admitted, "He didn't. I snuck out."

"Aren't you afraid you'll get in trouble?" Marinette had vivid memories of being chased by his bodyguard. Adrien had disappeared from the class trip to London because Nathalie and his bodyguard met him in _England_ to take him home.

"I used to be. But the only way they punish me is by keeping me from going out, and they do that anyway. So, what's next?"

"Um, Alya and the others went to _The Professional."_

Adrien's brow furrowed. "You don't sound happy."

"Isn't that movie scary?" Mylène had not wanted to come to the cinema and her reason was 99% _The Professional._

"It's a thriller. It's more suspenseful than scary."

"But there's a lot of violence."

_"Stylized_ violence." Adrien said it as if that made a meaningful difference.

They slipped into the theater showing _The Professional._ It had already started. Their eyes scanned the dark room, seeking out their friends. Luckily, they had been expected and were more conspicuous standing near the door than any faces seated in the dark. Alya ducked out of her aisle seat and dashed to Marinette and Adrien.

"Sorry," Alya whispered. "We couldn't save you seats. It's just so crowded."

"No worries," Adrien replied. "Marinette and I will sit someplace else. Unless you'd rather see a different movie?" He turned to Marinette. "You might like _The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec_ better."

"What a great idea, Adrien!" Alya could not have been more obvious about her intentions if she had bodily shoved them both out of the theater. "You two go on, and we'll meet up later."

"S-sounds great!"

Unexpected warmth engulfed Marinette's hand. She looked down to see that Adrien had taken it. "Come on." He tugged gently. "Let's check the schedule and see when it starts."

Marinette allowed Adrien to lead her out of the theater by the hand. She could almost see the neon arrows pointing at them, describing for all to see how her friends had not saved them seats on purpose so that she'd end up sitting alone with Adrien. Romantic music was swelling in the background. Was that just in her head or was it coming from one of the movies?

"I really am sorry, Marinette." He hadn't let go of her hand, but even still, words like that effectively punctured the balloon of romantic daydreams she was currently floating away on. "I really do think you'll like _Adèle_ better, but if I hadn't taken so long, we'd be able to sit with our friends. Coming here isn't about what movies we watch, it's about seeing them together. I've already seen them all a million times. But that was at home, by myself. I'm happy to share them with you."

"Don't—don't feel bad. It's not your fault. I mean, sure, you saw your tutor and he wanted to talk to you, but I don't think that made too much difference."

"Oh, look, we have ten minutes until _Adèle_ starts. Perfect timing! It's in theater 3."

With ten minutes before showtime, _The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec_ was not as crowded as _The Professional_ had been, but it was filling up. They found seats without too much trouble, though they were a little closer to the back of the theater than Marinette usually liked.

"What were you saying before?"

"The thing with them not having seats for us. That's not your fault because you stopped to talk. They probably would have done it anyway. Alya—Alya wanted to use this whole thing to set us up. Like on a date."

He gasped .

Why wouldn't this stupid theater just swallow her whole?

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble, I swear!"

Wait. _Adrien_ thought _she_ had a problem? "What—you—you didn't cause anything! This isn't your fault at all!"

He shrugged. "I pushed you to come see _Adèle,_ though. Should we go back to _The Professional_ and see if we can find seats after all?"

"What? No! _Adèle_ sounds like a much better movie and you—you wanted to share it with me. I want to see it with you."

In the dim light of a theater, it was hard to say for certain, but Marinette thought his cheeks were warming. "With just me? Knowing what the rest of our friends are thinking?"

"Well—I mean—it's not what I would have picked—which is to say, I don't have a problem unless _you_ have a problem and like you said, we came here to see movies together and we _are_ here together so it all worked out unless you don't want to?"

"I want to. I really want to."

"Great. Perfect. It's settled." (She had no idea if he wanted it to be a date or if he wanted to watch a movie, but either way was fine.)

(Okay, one option was _better_, but.)

"And I'm not making you uncomfortable?"

He was just too sweet. "Don't be silly! Of course not!"

"I guess it is silly." Adrien shrugged. "I'm still not used to doing things with friends. I worry that I'm not doing it right."

"You're amazing—you're doing amazing—are. Ugh. I mean, I can barely tell at all that you haven't always had lots of friends."

"It means a lot that you say that. You're really important to me."

A confession was on her tongue. Would she ever have a better time to tell him how she felt? But maybe she shouldn't. If she was so important to Adrien _as a friend,_ then wasn't it kinder to just be his friend? But wasn't that lying? To call herself his friend while in her heart she wanted something else? Didn't he deserve to know the truth?

"I think you should know…"

Adrien looked so attentive and kind, like what she was saying really mattered to him. Almost like he expected something important and brilliant and what had she ever done to make him think so highly of her?

"I also…"

She couldn't do it. This was insane. What was she thinking, trying to confess her love right before a movie? When they'd have to sit through it together in the awkward aftermath? When they'd have to regroup with their friends after it was over and figure out what to see next, them both knowing what she'd done?

"Friends." That was not a good save. Salvage! Salvage! "I just mean, friends, _pft_, anyone can be friends. We have a friendship that's special. Not a normal friendship."

Adrien smiled at her, a strange sort of lopsided smile. Not quite like the one in all those photos Alya had showed her. "Like we know something about each other that no one else knows."

Okay, well, if her haphazard attempt at salvaging a badly thought out love confession made sense to him, she better roll with it. "Yeah. Like we're close to each other in a way that no one else could be."

And then

AND

THEN

he put his arm around her shoulders and drew her as close to him as the arm rest between their seats would allow. Marinette's eyes bounced rapidly between the hand on her shoulder and his face. Adrien looked just...breathlessly happy. Her own fingers curled around the arm rest, half hoping it would crumble to dust if she just squeezed it hard enough, half fearing where her hands would go if she didn't grab the nearest object and hold on with all her might.

"I was so scared." He was whispering right into her ear. His breath tickled, made goosebumps rise along her neck and down her arms. "I thought you didn't want anything to change."

Her heart was pounding. She was dizzy. She could hardly think. It was unfair of him to be so near, to say things meant only for her. It was so warm in here. Was it just her? Or was it the crowd, which had steadily grown as the start time of the film drew nearer. "What do you want?" Marinette could not be 100% sure she said anything. She thought she said it. Maybe she didn't.

But Adrien answered, so she probably did. "What I've always wanted."

And then he drew her still closer somehow, and brushed his lips against hers. It was over almost the moment it had begun, as if he lost his nerve or maybe was expecting something that didn't happen. "Wow," Adrien murmured, "you really let me do that."

Marinette leaned forward and kissed him back. It lasted longer than his, was more like her thousands upon thousands of fantasies of his warmth, his breath, his gentleness and teasing kindness. Her hands, once so desperate to prevent a faux pas by hanging onto the arm rest for dear life lost their battle and touched his face. Adrien melted against her, never letting go, accepting everything she offered and giving back himself in return.

The distant, unimportant buzz of other people's conversations faded away as a musical fanfare built and crescendoed. That wasn't in her brain. It was in the theater. The movie was starting.

"We're such a cliche," Marinette whispered. "Making out in a movie theater!"

Adrien grinned. Just as quietly, he said, "I can do you one better."

"Really?"

"I've been in love with you since the first moment our eyes met."

The cheesiness of that line would have made her roll her eyes had she any doubt at all of his sincerity. Marinette pressed her cheek against his shoulder. "I've been in love with you," she answered, "since you gave me your umbrella in the rain."

He laughed, a joyous sound that no doubt annoyed everyone close enough to hear it but her. "Well, that answers the rest of my questions! Me all along, huh?"

Marinette never lifted her head. "You all along. You forever."

* * *

The movie was

_prooooooooobably_ good?

Marinette thought she watched it, but as they walked out of the theater, she could not recall a single thing about it. She knew the way light from the screen lit up Adrien's hair. She remembered the feel of his every knuckle when they held hands. She knew his eyes when he turned to her, wanting to gauge her reaction during the parts he deemed important but finding her watching him instead.

She was lucky Adrien really had seen it countless times. He answered Alya's every teasing question about the story and feigned total ignorance of Marinette's red face and hand that never strayed from his.

The victory was short lived. "How did they know I'm here?"

Alarmed, Marinette followed the line of his sight. There, across the lobby, visible over Alya's shoulder was his bodyguard and a quite angry looking Nathalie Sancoeur. Marinette pulled out her phone. As she suspected, one of her tracked tags had an Instagram alert. '#AdrienAgreste at the #LucBessonFest with his gf! #ReturnofPajamaGirl' The accompanying photo was of the pair holding hands while looking at the schedule for _Adèle._

"I better go," Adrien sighed, letting go of Marinette's hand. "On the bright side, you really are my girlfriend this time!"

Their friends swarmed her, demanding details, but all Marinette could do was watch Adrien walk away.

* * *

Hawk Moth had not struck since Ada.

At the best of times, Marinette kind of hated it when he was silent. Her optimism hoped he had given up. Her experience feared he was preparing something big. By Saturday, she hated it specifically because it meant she had not spoken to Cat Noir since learning he knew her secret identity. It was a long time to go without hashing out something that big. She had taken the afternoon as a day for herself. Hung out with friends. Kissed Adrien in a dark movie theater and held his hand until his overbearing family made him leave.

Saturday night was going to have to be spent catching up with her partner.

"Just can't bear to be parted from me, can you, Bugaboo?"

Ugh. Trust Cat Noir to intentionally misinterpret a message marked 'urgent.' He looked like he was about to break into a choreographed dance. Had they met on the street instead of a rooftop, he'd be spinning around a lamp post by now. Ladybug wanted to attribute his mood to something unrelated to her—an excellent day or a new video game, but she'd texted him requesting they meet up to talk and unfortunately, that was probably the source of his high spirits. She didn't do things like that often.

As always, it was up to her to get down to business. "I feel like we need to set some ground rules."

His brow furrowed for a moment, but he recovered quickly. "Ground rules. Okay. Makes sense. Lay 'em on me. I'm ready. I can take it. Do your strictest."

"I spoke to Master Fu on Thursday. He told me he was going to talk to you. Did he?"

"Today, yeah."

"Good. I'm glad he's talking to you more, I know that hurt you when he was only talking to me. And I don't want you to feel like you have to report to me everything you two talk about. He's your mentor, too."

So far, so good. Cat Noir looked serious and attentive. Ladybug continued. "He was really supportive with me when I told him. It all went a lot better than I expected."

Cat Noir must have had a similar experience because he said, "Master is surprisingly chill."

He really was, when one considered all he had been through on account of the Miracle Box. "But the thing is, I still don't feel comfortable knowing who you really are. And that's okay! Master says I might never be comfortable with it, that something that's going to change our partnership shouldn't be taken lightly. And well— _never,_ that's a long time, I hope someday we'll defeat Hawk Moth and it won't matter if I know. But right now, I think it's important that we keep as many secrets as we can."

Her partner wasn't nodding along anymore. He didn't look like he was about to break into the dance from _Singin' in the Rain._ He mostly looked confused.

"We work really well together, kitty. I don't want to do anything that could change that. Our duty to Paris _has_ to come first."

He looked like he'd been struck. He looked like he'd been struck and had no idea what hit him. "What?"

"We're superheroes, Cat Noir. The greater good has to come first. If"—_human eyes_—"if knowing you as you hurt our ability to fight together, I could never forgive myself."

She might as well have not said anything for all the good it did him. Cat Noir looked exactly as flummoxed as he had before. _"What?"_

"Please. I'm asking you as your friend, as your partner, as someone I hope you respect, don't try to give yourself away, okay?"

He sputtered. "How would I—how do you—_why don't you know?"_

"Look, all I want is for you not go around being obvious about it, okay? Don't—I don't know—start coming around to the bakery wearing cat ears or something. Master Fu told me that he's seen us together, so I know we're near each other sometimes."

Cat Noir clapped his hand over his mouth. Whether it was to stop himself from shouting from frustration or blurting out the answer, she didn't know, but at least he was respecting her request for silence, however much he didn't really want to.

"You aren't a puzzle," Ladybug said. "I don't want to try and _solve_ you. You're my _partner_. I need you to be a partner in this."

He dragged his hand away from his lips. "I'll be your partner in everything if you just let me."

That hurt. (She'd have to tell him she has a boyfriend now, but that conversation would have to wait until later. This one was hard enough on him without rubbing unrequited love in his face.) Ladybug took a breath and forged on. "Okay. So that's rule one. Rule two, the opposite of trying to make me solve you is probably just as bad. If you suddenly disappeared, then I'd notice. So, whatever we are to each other in our other lives, we need to keep being, whatever it is."

"I promise you'll like me. Just let me show you."

She groaned. "It's not about _liking_ you!" Maybe the I-have-a-boyfriend, I'm-sorry conversation couldn't wait too much longer, but she was still determined it wouldn't be today. "The right thing to do isn't always what you want it to be. This is hard for me, too. I'm sorry you don't like it. I just don't see another way right now."

Cat Noir looked away. "You're Ladybug. You always have the right idea at the right time. I guess I have no choice but to believe you."

"You always have a choice. I'm just asking you to respect _mine."_

"Sure. Yeah. Be what I am to you. Got it. Any more rules?"

"Um, not right now. Maybe I'll think of more later." The air between them was awkward and strained. This was not what protecting their partnership should feel like. "Thanks for being a good sport. I really appreciate it."

"Bug...I didn't figure you out on purpose. I wouldn't do that to you. I just…" Cat Noir sighed. "I know you didn't want that and I'm sorry it's caused you so much trouble. I couldn't help it." He shook his head. "I should probably go."

Ladybug folded her arms against her tummy. "Yeah. Okay. You go ahead."

He waited for a minute, like he was really hoping she would change her mind. But she didn't, and he left.

Alone, Ladybug slid down to the street and transformed back to Marinette. "That was really hard, Tikki. I hope I did the right thing."

"You must do what your heart tells you, Marinette."

Marinette smirked. "I already know you're on his side. I didn't forget how chummy you two are!"

"He's very nice boy," Tikki sniffed. "And he's right—you would like him."

"I'll have you know I have a boyfriend, Traitor Tikki! I am not interested in other boys!" She pulled her phone out of her purse, hoping no one had been looking for her while she was transformed. "See, Adrien texted me! Oh, but I didn't respond right away! I hope he's not upset. Hmm, okay, it was only two minutes ago."

He had sent a link to a YouTube video. The multipass scene from _The Fifth Element._ She knew it by heart, but since Adrien sent it, Marinette watched it anyway. 'Yeah, anyway,' Korben Dallas said to close out the clip, 'we're in love.'


End file.
